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Haryana begins acquiring land for express highway
Three humanitarian projects worth Rs 175 cr for Naraingarh
Land encroachers having field day
Jobless engineers with worthless degrees
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Eight-year term for raping minor
Shyamal Mishra takes over as MDU Registrar
Aid for cancer patient
Nain’s arrest stayed
Woman poisoned to death
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Haryana begins acquiring land for express highway
Chandigarh, September 3 On August 27, the Industries Department of the state government issued a notification for acquiring 100 acres of land in Sonepat district for "development of an express highway connecting National Highways 1, 10, 8 and 2 in villages Chhatera, Bahadurpur, Ladpur and Abadpur " in the district. The notification was issued by the government by evoking special powers needed for dealing with matters of "urgent importance". Official sources said that the total area needed for the construction of the 130- km road was 3100 acres. The state government would be acquiring the land in a phased manner to avoid the possibility of litigation on a particular plot of land, jeopardising the whole project. Shortly, another notification would be issued regarding acquisition of 100 acres of land in another district for construction of the expressway, the sources said. The Haryana Government, it may be recalled, was supposed to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with a Malaysian consortium in Delhi on August 24 for construction of the highway. While foreign participants were to bear 74 per cent of the cost of the project, the Haryana State Industrial Development
Corporation (HSIDC) was to bear 24 per cent of the cost. The signing of the MoA with the Malaysian agent, however, was called off suddenly and the official version given for cancellation of the programme was that "proper route" was not being followed for engaging the foreign consortium for the project. The official version, though, was challenged by others who maintained that the aborted agreement would have been free from any controversy since the Malaysian agents were part of the government of that country. ''It would have been like an agreement between two governments for the construction of roads. The investors would have got returns for their money by collecting toll from the road", an official here said. After cancellation of the deal with the Malaysian company, the state government reportedly pondered about the prospect of inviting global tenders for the project which would have been in conformity with the thinking on following "proper route" for constructing the road. A source, however, said the government had dropped the idea of floating global tenders because in that case the process of finalising a company for executing the project would become lengthy. " Considering the time factor the government may invite tenders from Indian companies only", the source said. Evidently, the state government is in a hurry to start the work of the road. One reason for this accelerated momentum can be that the ruling party wants to flaunt the project as one of its major achievements when the Assembly elections are held in February, 2005. |
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Three humanitarian projects worth Rs 175 cr for Naraingarh
Bhurewala (Naraingarh), September 3 The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, and the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Mr Sunil Dutt, laid the foundation stones of the Swami Rama Hi-Tech Eye Hospital and the Residential School for Parentless Children, respectively, here today The Governor, Dr A.R. Kidwai, inaugurated the Chronic Diseases Nature Cure Centre today. Speaking on the occasion, Dr V. Anand Swami, founder-president of the trust, said it was his ambition to set up a residential school to make global citizens out of “parentless children”, particularly those who lost their parents in communal or militant violence. He said he did not like to describe such children as “orphans”. Children in the age group of five to 10 years would be admitted to the school, irrespective of the creed, caste or religion. All of them would be taught all religions. Efforts would be made to make them eminent scientists and shining sports persons. Dr Swami promised that in the next Olympics, at least three of the students of the school would win gold medals, while at least 25 children would record win in various disciplines in the 2016 Olympics to be held in India. The hi-tech eye hospital, he said, would meet the long-felt need for such a hospital in the northern region. Dr Kidwai said the trust had done a great service to the humanity by setting up these projects in a rural area of the state. He expressed the hope that the Chronic Diseases Nature Care Centre would help such patients as were suffering from incurable diseases and were not able to afford treatment in private hospitals. He said it had been a tradition in the country that great projects had been started by saints and sages like Swami Vivekanand and Aurobindo. Mr Sunil Dutt said despite so much of diversity, if India was one, it was because of the traditions set up by saints. Recalling how his family had settled in a small village of Mandoli in Yamunanagar district after the partition, he said he could never forget his links with Haryana. After the tragic incidents of Godhra and post-Godhra, he decided to adopt 1000 orphan children for one year. For this project he was able to raise Rs 25 lakh with the help of the people of Mumbai. He said it was the collective responsibility of the nation to help the orphans. He announced a donation of Rs 50,000 for the projects from the Nargis Dutt Trust. Later while talking to newsmen, Mr Dutt said he would soon convene a meeting of the Sports Ministers of the states to formulate a new sports policy of the country in view of the changing scenario. Mr Chautala urged Mr Dutt to implement the assurance given by his predecessor, Ms Uma Bharti, to open a sports university in Haryana. He directed the Power Utilities to provide electricity supply to the nature cure centre within one week. Among others who spoke on the occasion were Mr Deepak Vohra, Indian Ambassador to Armenia, and Mr Vijai Vardjan, Secretary to the Haryana Governor, who is also an adviser to the trust. |
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Land encroachers having field day
Gurgaon, September 3 Encroachments at public places, especially main markets and busy thoroughfares in Gurgaon, Rewari, Narnaul in south Haryana, have picked up at an alarming pace of
late. While many say that this anomalous situation has arisen on account of a marked appreciation in the value of land, a good section attributes it to the laidback approach of the government due to the approaching Assembly elections in the state. According to reports, encroachments in village sides have also picked up. Although the authorities, especially in
Gurgaon, are presently taking remedial measures against encroachments, the general feeling is that it is the case of “too little, too late”. A majority of encroachers do not seem to be any bit bothered by the warnings issued by the authorities. This was unlike in the past when the land encroachers would heed to the measures, albeit temporarily from the government side. The violators of law would, come back to the cleared land with a vengeance after same time. A walk through the main bazaars here, including Sadar Market, the Old Railway Road, the New Railway Road. the General Bus Stand and the areas in and around the Subzi Mandi reveal large scale encroachments. These areas are stonethrow away from the offices and residences of the district authorities, both civil and of the judiciary. These encroachments, have seriously affected the smooth movement of vehicular traffic. The punitive measures initiated by the authorities in Gurgaon and other places in the past show a pattern. They seem to be in the right earnest in the beginning of the drive. However, when it picks up steam, it tapers off abruptly. This is due to the alleged interference of senior leaders of the ruling political party in the
state. It appears that several drives starkly achieve one thing in the end — those who are on the wrong side of the ruling party or its leaders bear the brunt. |
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Jobless engineers with worthless degrees
Rohtak, September 3 Haryana has 37 engineering colleges, most of which came up after 1995. Till then Haryana had an engineering college at Murthal, a Regional Engineering College at Kurukshetra (since upgraded to a technological institute level), an advanced polytechnic at Faridabad, which was also later upgraded as an engineering college, a textile technology institute at Bhiwani and Haryana Agricultural University’s College of Agricultural Engineering at Hisar. The past few years saw politically influential persons branch out into technical education since the management quota seats provided them hefty profits. An obliging government went on showering largesse indiscriminately without studying the job market for engineering graduates. For the first few years, everything appeared fine but trouble began when the first or second batches passed out of these colleges. To begin with only a 100 or so seats remained vacant. But as the colleges mushroomed, the number of vacant seats kept rising every year. This year more than 2,000 seats are reported to be vacant. The private colleges are making frantic efforts to fill these seats somehow or the other without much success. This has seriously affected the financial health of privately managed colleges. According to a director of a private engineering college, the number of vacant seats will rise drastically every year as the job market for engineering graduates in the state shrinks further. He is of the view that many of these colleges will have to wind up in the next two to three years. On the other hand, there are hardly any jobs for those passing out of these colleges. That about a 100 engineering graduates applied for the post of ward boy and peon in the local Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in July last is an indication of the job potential of the degrees awarded by these colleges. A senior professor of an engineering college in a neighbouring district said the problem was two-fold. One, the state had no jobs to offer to the engineers. Two, the degrees awarded by these colleges hardly carried any value outside the state. “Substandard colleges without a good faculty and infrastructure will churn out substandard engineers with no future”, he said. Parents are in a fix. They spend lakhs of rupees on admitting their children to these colleges. But even after that, the children continue to be dependent on them albeit with a worthless engineering degree. |
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Eight-year term for raping minor
Kaithal, September 3 According to prosecution, the victim lodged a complaint with the police that she was a student of Class VIII and the accused tried to take liberty with her a number of times but she did not inform her parents. However, one day when she went to answer the call of nature, the accused caught her forcibly and raped her. The girl narrated the whole incident to her mother and the next day she was medically examined which confirmed rape, following which a complaint was registered against Subhash. The court after convicting Subhash also ordered that if he failed to pay the fine he would have to undergo further imprisonment of two months. |
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Shyamal Mishra takes over as MDU Registrar
Rohtak, September 3 This post had been held by the Controller of Examinations, Dr K. C. Bhardwaj, as an additional charge after the reversion of Dr A.K. Rajan to his parent department in the university a few months ago. Earlier, the government had appointed a senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka to this post. However, he did not join. The university still continues to be without a regular VC, Finance Officer, librarian, executive engineer, Dean College Development Council and Director of Distance Education. |
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Aid for cancer patient
Kaithal, September 3 Residents of Bhatian village in Guhla subdivision, who recently faced the flood fury, demanded construction of a pucca bundh to save them from floods. The deputy commissioner asked Irrigation Department officials to take the necessary steps in this direction . Residents of Chandana and Khurana villages demanded replacement of their damaged transformers. Residents of the Dhand road requested the Deputy Commissioner to expedite the widening and reconstruction work of the Dhand road. The non-shifting of the electric poles has delayed the work. The Deputy Commissioner directed the power board authorities to shift poles without any delay. He directed the Public Health officials to improve drinking water supply in Chhot village. The ADC, Mr Pankaj Yadav, Mr Bhupinder Singh, SDM, and other district officials were present in this camp in which more than 100 cases were settled. |
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Nain’s arrest stayed
Hisar, September 3 The Narnaund police had registered a case against the BKU leader, following which he filed a plea in this regard. After hearing the plea today, the court stayed Mr Nain’s arrest. |
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Woman poisoned to death
Kaithal, September 3 According to a complaint lodged by Jedo Devi, her daughter, Nirmala, was married to Joginder of Songri in February, 2000. They had given dowry items in marriage. However, their daughter was allegedly continuously harassed and tortured by her in-laws for more dowry. The mother alleged that her daughter was forcibly poisoned her to death by her in-laws. |
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